Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“It’s good that he’s dead, but I was troubled over what to do with that letter. And then…….”
For reasons she couldn’t quite understand, the letter that had been returned as his effects was incinerated completely by Prince Alax.
When she learned that fact, she couldn’t shake the thought that heaven itself was on her side.
“I thought that was the end of everything.”
Even as she inwardly mocked Princess Nailia for treasuring a letter whose contents she didn’t even know.
“But it can be restored.”
If the letter were restored and Princess Nailia learned its contents…….
“That can’t be allowed to happen, can it?”
“So what are you planning to do?”
At Seres’s question, Aria’s smile grew even brighter.
“You’ll probably be discovered as a corpse by tomorrow.”
“…….”
“The culprit will be Fake, that fool.”
Aria drew something from her pocket.
A small poison bottle.
“I’m really sorry about this. You were such a good friend.”
A good friend she could throw to others.
Aria too had no friends at first and had suffered much harassment from the others.
The one who caught her eye was Seres.
A girl whose family was no better than her own and naive to the point of stupidity.
So she had made her a substitute prey.
Children only needed one existence they could bite and tear into freely.
All she had to do was wrap that prey in kindness and help, building an image of goodness.
“The burn scars you claimed to have received before — did you cause those on purpose?”
She had thought it strange. The original owner of this body would never have done such a thing.
“Yes. I deliberately bumped into you. It really hurt back then.”
As if the memory from that time surfaced, Aria made a pained expression.
“But thanks to that, all the children in the class became completely mine.”
How amusing it was to see them, on her behalf, grow angry and curse, pushing Seres away.
“Don’t be too scared. I was told there wouldn’t be much pain. But I can’t let my friend suffer too much, can I?”
…Ridiculous.
Yellow liquid. At a glance, it was the deadly venom from the body of an Asque viper.
The moment it enters the body, one experiences burning agony as every organ liquefies, and death follows.
‘And she claims there will be no pain.’
A lie to the very end.
“You’re saying you’ll make me drink this now?”
“Yes.”
Aria shook the poison bottle with a bright smile.
‘You really are completely insane.’
Why did she sound so cheerful about killing someone?
“How exactly will you make me?”
“How else? You’re tied up and my hands are free.”
Aria smiled thinly and stepped closer, ready to force the poison down her throat.
“Tied up? By whom? Me?”
“What?”
Snap.
In that instant, something broke with a sound, and the cord binding Seres’s hands fell to the floor.
“Guess Fake really was the idiot you said. He tied me with rotten rope?”
“What does that……!”
The cord on the floor was indeed rotted through, as decrepit as if decades had passed since its use.
“Fake, you goddamn moron!”
Using rope like that to restrain someone!
As Aria fumed, Seres let out a soft laugh.
‘No, the rope was fine.’
I simply rewound time. Enough for the rope to rot.
“So what now? I have no intention of drinking that poison willingly.”
Aria’s expression twisted in every direction as she clutched the poison bottle.
This wasn’t part of the plan!
As she gnawed at her lips, Seres offered her a choice, as if granting a favor.
“You have two choices. You can seek out Princess Nailia yourself and lay bare all these facts.”
“What?”
“Or you can be dragged before her by my hand.”
“Ha!”
Aria let out a scornful laugh.
“Who do you think people will believe—you or me?”
Whatever Seres said here, no one would take her word for it.
“What about the letter?”
“Won’t you be arrested first?”
“Arrested?”
Riiip!
Before the words left her lips, Aria began tearing at her own clothes. She even picked up sharp glass shards scattered across the basement floor and dragged them across her skin, leaving cuts in several places.
‘Wow… she really is completely unhinged.’
Seres clicked her tongue softly as she watched.
She didn’t try to stop her—just observed quietly to see how far this would go.
“Dying would have been better than being arrested as a criminal.”
The sight of her smiling brightly while blood dripped from her wounds was grotesque beyond measure.
“You’re going to the classroom looking like that?”
“Yeah. The rest will handle itself.”
Everything, starting with reporting you.
All she had to do was go wailing and sobbing to them, blaming Seres for everything.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Regret? Me?”
The madwoman laughed again.
As a former healer, she could say this much: you need mental treatment far more than you need to treat those wounds.
“You’re the one who should regret.”
Still smiling that sickening smile, Aria moved quickly out of the basement.
…….
Seres neither grabbed her nor called after her.
* * *
“Oh my!”
“What is that? What’s wrong with her?”
“Isn’t that Aria?”
The Academy students who spotted Aria stumbling down the corridor couldn’t hide their shock.
Her clothes were torn in places, and blood was streaming down from various cuts—it looked like something terrible had happened.
“Are you all right?”
“What happened?”
A few reached out to help, but Aria ignored them and hurried into the classroom where Princess Nailia was.
Crash!
“Ugh…….”
Thump.
The moment she entered the classroom, Aria collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
Hugging herself with both arms, she waited for others to rush toward her in concern, as they always did.
But…….
“……?”
The room was silent.
No response came.
Why?
As Aria slowly lifted her head in confusion, she couldn’t help but flinch. Every student seated there was staring at her with cold eyes.
What on earth was happening?
Normally, these people would rush to her at the first tear, asking what was wrong.
“H-hey, you guys…….”
Lost and trembling, Aria’s gaze finally locked on one person.
Princess Nailia, who was looking straight at her.
“P-Princess Nailia!”
Her eyes glistened with tears again as she saw her.
No matter what the others did, Princess Nailia would never turn away from her.
After all, it was she who had comforted and soothed Nailia after Tonio’s death.
Whoosh.
And true to form, Princess Nailia rose from her seat and approached her.
“Ngh… Seres… Ser…….”
Crack!
“Wh… what?”
Aria had no choice but to go blank again, recounting what Seres had just done through her tears, even as she felt the sharp sting bloom across her cheek.
“I… Princess Nailia……?”
“…….”
The expression on Princess Nailia’s face as she regarded Aria was ice itself.
She was always cold in all things, yet whenever she looked at Aria, there was always a small warmth to be found.
But now?
“Why……?”
The other students watching her with her cheek struck wore the same chill in their eyes.
Aria read the anger burning within them and felt nothing but confusion.
─ Aria.
“……?”
In that instant, a familiar voice pierced her ear!
A voice that should never, ever be heard here.
Aria’s gaze wavered as she found its source.
Something in Princess Nailia’s hand drew near, blinking repeatedly.
A Communication Stone.
‘Se… surely not……!’
The moment Aria’s expression hardened, the voice came again from the stone.
─ I told you you’d regret this.
Seres’s voice, coming from the Underground.
“I… Princess Nailia…….”
“…….”
She called out to her with a trembling voice, but Princess Nailia remained silent.
She simply gazed at the Communication Stone resting in her hand.
A man had entered the classroom moments before.
“Who are you?”
“…A messenger.”
“A messenger?”
“Well, here—take this.”
The man had let out a long sigh, muttering quietly as he handed her the Communication Stone.
Before she could ask in detail what this was all about, he vanished from the classroom as if he had no further business there.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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